An Example of Status In Action
Why Kindred Law is so Unfair, a Case Study (albeit a slightly exaggerated one) from [http://www.fataladdiction.com/ http://www.fataladdiction.com and reworked to fit a nWoD setting.] Picture the scene: The Invictus Primogen has been found in a room with the recently killed corpse of the Carthian Primogen. He claims he didn¹t do it. The Prince summons him and the entire court (this is a bad move, but we'll come back to that in a bit). **** Prince: Right, Lord Joe Invictus... did you kill Bob, the Carthian Primogen? Joe Invictus: Lord... I cannot tell a lie... nope. I had nothing to do with it. '' ''Near-By Lance Sanctum Member: A-HA! Your majesty, Joe Invictus is a lying, two faced murdering git. '' ''Joe Invictus: You have evidence? Near-By Lance Sanctum Member: I don't have to have any... I just read your aura and me and EVERYONE could see that you were lying your bloody head off... '' ''Joe Invictus: YOUR MAJESTY! What on Earth is going on? You've allowed a no one such as this to present evidence... '' ''Near-By Lance Sanctum Member: WHAT!? Prince: (Who knows where this is going and what is going to happen) My God, I think your right! '' ''Near-By Lance Sanctum Member: What the hell? '' ''Joe Invictus: A viper in our midst. I wonder, are the entirety of the Lancea so affected...? '' ''Near-By Lance Sanctum Member: What the Hell are you talking about? '' ''Joe Invictus: You, Sir, you and your disregard for the Traditions and laws of this Praxis. You and your attempt to subvert our society from within... Near-By Lance Sanctum Member: I beg your pardon? '' ''Joe Invictus: I had given my word as a Primogen. You say you glanced at my aura and contradict me! You glance at my aura... you doubt my word! '' ''Near-By Lance Sanctum Member: Well, of course I bloody well do, you're a sneaky git! '' ''Joe Invictus: That's MR. Sneaky Git to you, Sunshine! Or, rather, Lord PRIMOGEN Sneaky Git. You, Sir, have decided to disregard our sacred Traditions.. You have taken the system of Status, which unites us and binds us, and defines our place in our society, and you have thrown it out the window. You doubt my word in public... by doing so, you suggest that Status is redundant. That I'm not afforded my good standing, granted by the Harpies themselves? '' ''Near-By Lance Sanctum Member: Er... no, that's not... '' ''Joe Invictus: No doubt you wish to get rid of our Prince and introduce democracy as well... probably hang about with subversives too don't you? '' ''Near-By Lance Sanctum Member: No, now wait a minute...! '' ''Joe Invictus: Your majesty, I insist that this criminal be staked immediately. And ...the bad guy, Joe Invictus, gets away with it. In the World of Darkness, society is key and when you disregard society...you stand to lose and that includes losing your life. As said above, there is no fairness or justice. The Near-By Lancea Sanctum Member disregarded this simple fact and in return for that, he paid the price. Of course, if things had been handled "correctly" the Lancea Sanctum Member would have told the Prince what he saw in private and the Prince...who can do no wrong in his domain, would have pointed the finger at Joe Invictus, and since his word is law..It would have been believed and there would be one less Joe Invictus in that particular city. Bringing someone to justice is as simple as saying the right thing to the right person at the right time and right place, who in turn will present the "facts" to the right people...and then -hopefully- the right person is brought to justice. There is one thing and one thing alone that trumps status... and that is politics. If the right person levels the accusation to the Prince "justice" will be done...for the most part. Taking the above case for example...if the Lance Sanctum Member had told his Primogen, who then in turn told the other Primogen and then finally passed it along to the Prince, the Prince can therefore point his finger and accuse Joe Invictus of the crime. Keep in mind however: Accusations of wrongdoing in Kindred society must be made by those of high standing. Someone has to stand up and anonymous tips and finger pointing will be ignored. The reason for this is simple; someone has to take the blame when and if it goes wrong. If you bring an accusation and it is overruled...you are now guilty of bearing false witness, crying wolf...sedition! Treason! Even if you told the truth, you are guilty. And remember...do not ever accuse a Prince that is in good standing of a crime...only that can done by another Prince..Because remember...as stated above...the Prince does no wrong in his domain...and his word is law and as he is final arbitor of law and punishment...you can almost -bet- he will not be the one hanging from the nearest tree. Oh look...does that branch have your name on it?